Freaky Franchise

Today, a big piece of the 2013 Giants puzzle took to the mound.

How Tim Lincecum is going to perform this season is a huge question mark for San Francisco - whether or not they'll have a 5th starter, another great bullpen guy, or even a future closer.

But after today, his first time facing batters this Spring, Lincecum took a step towards regaining his old, hard-throwing self. Despite lasting only 1 1/3 innings today against the Dodgers, while giving up three runs and four hits, Timmy came away feeling positive.

"Mechanically, I felt really good. The timing of my arm was good. I missed a couple of pitches high, but it was kind of because I wanted to. There wasn't anything way too far off where I wanted to throw it."

Not that we want to get our hopes up about The Franchise just yet, but there are indeed some positive signs to come out of today's brief start.

Today, Lincecum was throwing his fastball anywhere from 89-93. In 2012, his veloctiy averaged about 90 MPH. It was his worst career season, ending with a 10-15 record and a 5.18 ERA. His previous velocities averaged about:

2011 - 93 MPH
2010 - 91-92 MPH
2009 -  93 MPH
2008 - 94-95 MPH


It's not surprising that someone with Lincecum's frame (5'11", currently listed at 170 lbs., wiry limbs) would eventually decrease in velocity, but the sudden drop was alarming to both the Giants front offense and fans alike this past season. But the fact that he was throwing 89-93 today might be proof that Big Time Timmy Jim is back.

His routine this past offseason was certainly a step in the right direction.

When he reported to camp in February 2012, Lincecum had spent the offseason swimming and dieting and came to Spring Training about 20 pounds lighter than the previous season. As we all know, this lead to his worst season. Usually, more weight can mean more velocity and power behind a fastball, and obviously Tim's lack of weight contributed to a lack of speed on his pitches.

In 2011, Lincecum reported to camp after having spent his offseason throwing "the most [he's] ever thrown." He focused on making his legs strong, and he was so excited about winning the World Series the year before that he didn't take too much time off of throwing. Even though he went 13-14 that season, his ERA decreased to 2.74 (7th in the league), his WHIP was 1.21, and he pitched 217 innings (19th in the league), as opposed to a 3.43 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and 212.1 innings in 2010.

He had also said that he was motivated that offseason by his terrible August of 2010, in which he went 0-5 during a tight pennant race. Despite winning the World Series that year, and becoming the Giants postseason MVP, Lincecum wanted to show that he had put his struggles behind him in 2011. And he did.

This past offseason, Lincecum was instructed by Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner to put on weight. That was his big assignment, and Tim seemed just fine with it.

Timmy seems to be at best when he's just focusing on his pitching - not dieting, not losing weight, not worrying about which pitch to throw next. He's at his best when he's simply being Timmy Lincecum, throwing pitches and having fun. He also finds motivation in coming back from adversity, something he will have to do this year.

Or maybe, he just really loves pitching the season following a World Series win.

Hopefully he'll get the chance to do that many more times.